Found Tim, Now What?
by CerapinTech
Summary: Sequel to Finding Tim. Consists of a series of one shot like stories about Laura's adjustment to life in New York that span over a period of about two weeks after she's found Tim. They will not be posted in any chronological order, so read A/N's for time lines. I may shuffle order of stories/chapters later on.
1. Hanami

**A/N:** I'm not sure what kind of tree is actually growing in the dojo, but for the sake of this fic, it's become a flowering tree, even though it probably isn't. Anyways, this little idea popped into my head, and I just loved it. I'm not sure it will really fit into the story much, but it makes for a great bonding scene.

* * *

 **Hanami**

Laura knocked on the wooden frame of the Japanese style paper door before sliding it open. Hamato Yoshi sat under the tree that grew through the ground. It always amazed Laura that such a magnificent thing could grow in a place like a sewer. But then she reminded herself of the beautiful family that surrounded it every day. If she were a tree, she wouldn't mind growing among friends.

It was spring time, and the tree's blossoms had just opened, blooming big white flowers.

"Miss Whitten," Splinter greeted Laura as she entered the dojo. "What brings you around at this time? The boys are all out on patrol."

"I know, can't really enjoy this with the youngsters around," Laura held up a narrow paper bag with Japanese writing, and pulled out a bottle of alcohol. "I don't know too much about sake, but the guy at the store said this one was a classic." She handed the bottle over to him and he inspected the label.

"Hmmm, honjozo. It has been long since I last enjoyed a drink, even longer since I did so with company," he smiled at her. "Tell me, for what occasion do we drink?"

"I was thinking hanami," Laura said, sitting down on the mats as Yoshi fetched two choko, small sake cups.

"Flower viewing," Yoshi translated, placing the choko cups on a small wooden table and taking a seat beside Laura, "It's appropriate." He gazed up at the large flowers on the tree.

"I know they're not cherry blossoms," Laura said, pouring the sake into each cup, "but who can pass up a chance to drink in good company?"

"A statement hard to argue with," Yoshi picked up his choko and held it up. Laura mimicked his movements, and they drank.

They both enjoyed the flowers and company in silence for a few minutes, letting the alcohol work its way into their systems.

"Tell me Laura," Yoshi said after studying the young lady, "what are your plans after you restore your brother?"

Laura heaved a sigh and emptied her cup, "Honestly, I'm not planning on sticking around."

"Is that so?" Yoshi filled her cup again.

"This whole thing with ninjas and giant mutants and alien robots trying to take over the world . . . I just feel like I'm in way over my head here. Don't get me wrong, you guys are all great, but I don't think I could stand doing this sort of thing all the time."

"I believe I understand. These are our problems and we will deal with them. I'm just sorry that you got mixed up in all this to begin with."

" _You_ have nothing to apologize for, Yoshi," Laura reassured him, "Tim's the idiot. And it's my fault for drawing too much attention to myself when I was looking for him. But it's what you do for family."

"Indeed. Family is a thing to be protected and cherished. It's not something to be taken for granted." Yoshi's eyes drifted to the display in the back of the dojo. Laura looked over and saw the old black and white picture of a human family. Laura got his meaning as he drained his choko. Laura smiled and refilled his cup.  
"You can say that again. After we figure out how to fix Tim, I'm gonna go home and convince mom to move to Baltimore with me. I'm sure I can ask around and get her a job at the university. I'd feel better knowing her and Tim are away from the madness that encompasses New York."

"You will be missed," Yoshi watched as a flower petal fluttered to the found, "You may not have noticed, but you have been a good influence on the boys. And you and April have become good friends as well."

"Have I?"

"You certainly know how to put them in their places."

"Huh . . ." Laura thought about the times she would break up fights and send the guys packing with her ever present ruler. "Well, a little fear never hurt any. Boys need to be slapped around a bit anyways, teaches them to be tough. I've seen you do it more than a few times."

"Yes, there are many lessons that can be taught with the aid of a little beating," Yoshi thought of the long training sessions, and how his sons were never able to truly best him. Not yet anyways.

"I'm sure Tim could benefit from some of those lessons. But he's rather hopeless."  
"Yes, I've gleaned that much. But his heart is in the right place."

"Good intentions don't always lead to good results. Look where Tim ended up. A pile of frozen guts in a jar and a mound of work on my desk."

"Hmm."

"But I can't help but admire his determination. If only he'd get some brains, he'd be set."

Yoshi chucked at her comment. "In any case, I wish you luck in your future endeavours, and safe passage from this life of excitement."

"Thanks," Laura filled his cup one last time as the sake ran out, "I'm sure I'll pop in every now and then. Who knows, maybe I'll get assigned to a project in the city."

"I look forward to the day," Splinter said.

Another petal fell from the tree, landing in Laura's cup. She smiled at the good omen and hoped for a bright future.


	2. Phone Call

**A/N** : Occurs directly after Laura finds Tim, probably that night.

* * *

 **Phone Call**

It was late and Marcy Whitten was sitting at the small table in her apartment. She was staring into space, thinking of her children, both lost to her. A bottle of gin was sitting in front of her, her glass untouched. Beside the bottle, was a family picture from before her husband had left. The four of them all smiled happily at the camera as they sat around a picnic table. It had been two days since she last heard from her daughter. Laura was off on another adventure, first she made it into university, and now she's off chasing after her brother.

 _I pray that they're both safe,_ Marcy closed her eyes in thought, _Keep my babies safe Lord. And bring them back to me. They're all I have to live for._

Marcy opened her eyes. She looked at the untouched glass in front of her before reaching for it. As her fingers closed around the cold glass, the phone rang.

Marcy's head snapped around towards the ringing land line. It was too late for the diner to be calling, and there was no one else who would call her, much less at this late hour . . .

 _It couldn't be . . ._

Marcy jumped up, her glass forgotten, and snatched up the ringing phone.

"H-hello . . ." Marcy said, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Mom?"

Relief flooded through Marcy as the sound of Laura's voice sounded over the line. _She's okay!_

"Young lady, where have you been!?" Marcy demanded, the mother in her taking over.

"I found Tim."

That one simple sentence washed over Marcy, making her whole body tremble. She almost didn't want to know. It had been months since Tim disappeared, and Marcy had all but given up hope that she would see him again. She hoped that Tim was alright, that he was alive. She didn't know if she could handle knowing if . . .

"Ho-how is he?" Marcy said hesitantly.

"Weeeell," Laura extended the word, uncertainly, "He's alright, I guess. I mean he's alive, sort of . . . Ehh, it's complicated."

"I-I don't understand. Laura what's going on?"

"Tim's a block head. He got himself into some crap . . . and it's gonna be awhile until he can come home."

"Drugs? Did Tim get into drugs? I thought I taught him better, tha-that he would know better, that he would—"

"No, no. Mom, Tim's not on drugs. Tim on drugs . . . that would be scary. He's messed up enough as I is. Anyways, no. No. It's not drugs. But it's not exactly something that can be treated at a hospital either."

"What do you mean? Laura you're not making any sense."

Marcy heard her daughter sigh over the phone. "Do you remember that alien invasion a while back?"

"Why? Has Tim gotten involved with aliens? But I thought they were gone!"

"Um . . . Yeah, no. Not really. But-but this isn't about that, it's about something they brought with them . . . There's nothing a doctor could do to help him, but I think I can. No, I know I can help fix Tim. But it looks like it's gonna take a while."

"Can I see him?"

"I-it—I don't think you really want to, right now. He's . . . well it's not pretty."

"Laura stop it! You're scaring me. Now tell me what's happen to my Timmy!" Marcy's voice cracked as she fought back the hot tears threatening to overflow.

The line was silent for a bit as Laura tried to find a gentle way of saying it. When she couldn't, she decided to be blunt. "He's a giant pile of guts in a jar."

". . . Sorry, what?"

"The aliens brought an elixir with them; a type of mutagen, glows green, has sparkles floating in it, usually without a lid . . . But it's dangerous and unpredictable. And, well, Tim being Tim, thought it would be a good idea to become a mutant superhero . . . It didn't turn out so good."

Marcy lost the battle with her tears. She fell to her knees and silently cried as she imagined her baby boy, trapped in a giant container. She tried to erase the image from her head, but failed.

"M. . . Mom . . . Mom!?"

Marcy realized her daughter was still on the phone, "Laura?"

"Mom, are you alright?"

"No," she sniffled, wiping her eyes, "But I'll pull through." She took a few breaths, trying to calm herself down. She had to keep it together.

"You always do. You're strong, and we'll all make it through this."

So . . . her son was now a mutant monster thing trapped in a jar, or something. Her lips trembled as she tried to talk again. "So what's going to happen to Tim?"

"Well, I met some people who know a bit about this kind of stuff. They've been taking care of Tim ever since he disappeared. And I'm gonna help them fix this."

"Where are you now? Can I come to see Tim?"

"Best you didn't. This is something best kept secret, and its better if you don't know where it's all happening."

Marcy composed herself, rising from the floor. "I don't like this Laura, but I trust you. You do what you can, and then come back home to me. Both of you, come home."

"I will. _We_ will. I won't leave you, not like dad did."

Marcy felt a pang through her heart as Laura mentioned her husband. "Honey, he . . . No, never mind. Just stay safe. I don't know what you've gotten yourself into, but I just want you and your brother to stay safe."

"I love you, mom."

"I love you too, Laura."

The line went dead. Marcy placed the phone on its receiver and sat back down at the small table. She eyed her drink, still untouched.

"Why does it feel like my family is falling apart?" She asked her drink. She drained the cup in one go before placing it back in front of her. "But, it always seem to work out."

Marcy smiled at the family photo, still smiling up at her, "We'll get through this rough patch too, right Ben?"


	3. For Family

**A/N:** This one occurs on the roof after they break out of the Foot headquarters, right before they bring Laura back to the lair. In all honesty, it should probably be in the final chapter of Finding Tim, but I had already finished it when I thought of this, so here it is.

* * *

 **For family**

"You know that was stupid, right?" Leonardo confronted Laura Whitten on the roof. She sat on the edge, with her feet dangling over the street far below. They were alone on the roof as the others scouted out a safe route back to the lair. Raph had wanted to stay with Laura, but Leo wanted to talk to her alone before they revealed the location of their lair.

"Yep," Laura agreed, swinging her legs. She couldn't believe it, Tim was alive! She smiled to herself, not wanting to think about what she almost did back in the lab.

"You can't be so reckless," Leo scolded, frowning down at her.

Laura looked over the people still bustling around on the street. "I thought he was dead," she watched a couple walking down the street, hand in hand.

"That doesn't justify it. You could have hurt a lot of people."

"Then why did you come back? I was your enemy, I was working to create a weapon to destroy your family . . . I hurt your brother."

"You didn't actually," Leo pointed out, thinking back to the blood, her blood, covering Raphael's leg, and making it seem wounded so they would leave without her.

"But you thought I did. Why did you come back? Was it just because Red convinced you?"

"Well partially," Leo admitted, "He ran off before I could stop him, and I know how stubborn he can be . . . But I don't regret coming back."

"Even so, I'll say to you what I said to Red. I'm not interested in your war. I'm looking out for my brother, like you should be looking out for yours."

"I can understand that. You gotta protect your family as the older sibling. It's up to you to make sure they're okay."

"Yeah . . . well, I guess you've got it worse than I do," Laura smiled up at him, "You've got three bros to look after, and it seems that you get into more trouble than most."

"Well it can't be easy looking out for someone like the Pulveriser. No offense, but he was a little . . ."

"Stupid? Idiotic? Brainless? Dimwi—."

"Yeah, yeah," Leo stopped her, sensing she could go on for a while.

Laura sighed, "Tim's a moron, but I kinda love him for it. Keeps things interesting. Although this is all a little too much for me. It would be for the best if I just take Tim and head home."

An image of Laura lugging the Pulveriser's giant container up apartment stairs flashed through his mind.

"Umm . . . That might be a little difficult."


	4. Opportunity

**A/N:** This happens maybe a few days after Finding Tim. Laura is offered a job. She decides to take it to get access to more advanced equipment that the lab can offer.

* * *

 **Opportunity**

Laura stood in front of a building, small for New York, with the words _Pin Tech_ in large glowing letters posted above the doorway. She checked the note she scribbled on her hand then back up at the building in front of her.

 _This is it_ , she thought as she pushed the doors open. Although she was taking time off from her schooling, one of her profs managed to convince her to keep working on one of her projects she left unfinished back in Baltimore. The university had sent her samples to this institution,Pin Tech, to run some tests. Since she was in the city, it was easiest for her to pick up the results in person.

Laura walked into a small, lobby type area, and the receptionist directed her to where she wanted to go. She took the stairs to the third floor and found the room she was looking for. She pushed open the door and stepped into the familiar laboratory setting she was used to at the university. There were drawers filled with micropipettes of varying sizes, a centrifuge and gel doc system on a counter against one wall beside a set of sinks. There was also a refrigerator and microwave in the room along with an incubator and fume hood. Different cabinets lined the walls where she knew more equipment and chemicals were being stored.

"Miss Whitten I presume," a man said from the other side of the room. He was tall and thin with thick greying hair. He wore a dirty lab coat and a pair of plastic safety goggles.

"Professor Sandrum," Laura said moving to shake his hand, "Doc Lands said you had some data for me."

"Yes," the professor started shuffling papers around on a cluttered desk and handed her a pile of papers, "By the way, he took the liberty of sending data from some plates you had left behind. He thought you would want to see the results from the mutants you were culturing. By the sounds of it, it quite unexpected." He handed her a separate folder and she flipped through it.

Laura recalled that she had left an a few culture plates behind, she had been experimenting with possible mutagens and their effect on DNA repair systems. She frowned taking in the readings, "No bacteria grew? Not even on the nutrient agar? Was the mutation that unstable? It shouldn't have killed them off like that." She mumbled to herself.

"Not what you were expecting?" Professor Sandrum asked.

"When do you ever get what you were expecting?" Laura grumbled.

"Very true."

"Well, thanks for everything," Laura turned to leave.

"Actually," Sandrum stopped her, "I was wondering, I am a little short hand around here at the moment. Doctor Lands spoke very highly of you, and if you weren't too busy, I would love to have you help out around here every once and awhile."

"You're offering me a job?"

"Just while you're in town. I know you have other projects back in Baltimore, but this would just be as a part time lab assistant. You would help prepare samples and run some tests. Just a few hours a week would be helpful."

Laura thought about the implications of having a job in a real lab. It would be good work experience, look good on a resume, and let her play with all sorts of fun stuff. But then she thought about her responsibilities as a sister, she already had a job to do. She had to fix Tim. But what about . . . Grape was great and all, but there was some equipment here that he doesn't have, stuff that wasn't thrown together using scraps found at the dump. It would certainly give more accurate results.

"Would I be able to use the equipment for some more . . . personal projects?"

"Of course, as long as it doesn't interfere with anything we've got going on, I see no problem with that."

"Then I would love to assist you Professor. What sort of projects are you working on?"

Professor Sandrum launched into an explanation about _Thermus aquaticus_ and its unique polymerases which can withstand high temperatures. He went on to explain how they were investigating the breakdown of high energy compounds using heat resistant proteins isolated from the _T. aquaticus_ bacterium.

"Now that's cool," Laura said impressed. She thought of the possible applications and she could somehow relate it to Tim's condition. She could think of no downside to taking on a part time job while she was in the city.

 _This is gonna be awesome,_ Laura thought to herself.


	5. Partings

**A/N:** This occurs a day or so after Finding Tim, the time line is explained. And for the record, if you hadn't noticed, Laura has made nicknames for all the turtles. Raph is Red, Leo is Blue, Donnie is Grape, and although I haven't used it in anything yet, Mikey's is Sunshine. I say this now because it's mention it in this fic.

* * *

 **Partings**

"Goodnight, Laura."

"Goodnight, Grape."

Laura Whitten watched as Donatello, or Grape as she called him, made his way out of the laboratory he sat put together himself, and towards his room. She looked around at her surroundings; old arcade machines, a pit in the floor that held couches and an old TV set, a tire swing hanging over a pool of water connected to the drainage system, the turnstiles that led to the subway tracks, paper walls that separated the dojo from the rest of the space, and so on. This was what four mutant turtles and their rodent father called home. This was where Laura Whitten did not belong.

The longer she stayed, the more involved she would become in their affairs. And more involved she become, the more danger she knew would follow her home to her family. Ever since her father left, she was the one who now takes care of her family, and she won't allow these nightmares to be thrust upon them anymore.

Her brother, Timothy, was already in too deep. He was the reason she was here in the first place. Timothy was stuck as a mutant glob of frozen guts stuffed in a giant jar. He had gotten it into his head that he would be the hero, and this is what happened.

Laura was too involved as it was. The Foot were supposedly looking for her after the turtles broke her out of their headquarters. But she didn't know what all the fuss was about. They wanted her to help them create a mutant army, but she wasn't anyone special. They chose her because, at the time, she was desperate to find Timothy, and they promised to help. Without that information to use as leverage, they had no way to control her. So what was the point in pursuing her?

"It's too dangerous for you to go home," Leonardo, Blue, had told her that night. "The Foot are going to be looking for you. I know Karai isn't one to give up easily."

"It'll be safer for you if you stay down here with us," Raphael, Red, reasoned.

"It would also be easier to find a cure for Tim with you down here," Donatello, Grape, pitched in.

"We can play games, and eat pizza, and have water balloon fights, and—OW!" Michelangelo, Sunshine, said excitedly until Red smacked him.

Despite their insistence, Laura knew she couldn't stay. She had only been down in the sewers for a day, and she already knew more than she ever wanted to. Evil ninja clans, mutant monsters, aliens from another dimension . . . it was all too much.

Now Laura was in Grape's lab, the only light was the eerie green glow coming from the canisters of mutagen that Laura and Grape had been experimenting with. Laura stood in front of what was left of her brother, frozen in his own gastric juices, a collection of organs packed into a containment unit. She studied Timothy in his sad state. This is what happens when you get in over your head. And Laura was in over her head. She had to get out.

"Sorry Timmy," she placed a hand on the cold glass that separated her from her brother, "But I have to go. Don't worry, I'll be back. I won't leave you . . ."

With her mind set, she went about collecting what she would need. A memory stick with the data on her brothers mutation and what little they knew about the mutagen, her trusty ruler that's gotten her out of a few scrapes, and her phone.

On second thought, she left her phone behind. She knew how good Grape was, and she didn't want him tracking her. She had to distance herself from them, but not loose contact entirely. She had memorized their phone numbers and would make contact when she needed to.

She slipped her ruler in her back pant pocket and her memory stick was looped through a chain around her neck. With a final look back at her brother, she left the lab and made her way toward the turnstiles which would bring her to the subway lines. She wasn't sure where she was exactly, but she'd figure it out once she found a way above ground.

She paused again in front of the turnstiles, thinking of what she needed to do. What would she do? She couldn't go home, there was still a possibility that the Foot were still looking for her, and she couldn't bring that home to her mother.

She'll have to find a new place to live. She can check into a motel under a false name, use cash, the whole incognito thing . . . At least until she found somewhere more permanent. She could rent out her own, anonymous apartment in some back street district of the city, where no one cared who you were as long as you paid the rent and didn't bother anyone.

"Having second thoughts?" a man's gentle voice broke Laura's train of thought, startling her. She spun around, and her breath caught as she saw with the turtles' father, Hamato Yoshi, standing a few feet away. Apparently, not everyone was asleep for the night.

Laura met his eyes with determination in hers. "I can't stay here," she insisted.

"It is the safest place for you," Yoshi replied.

"Safe for now, maybe," Laura said, "Safe until I become wrapped up in your affairs. Safe until the Foot find me again. Safe until one of your many enemies discovers me as one of your allies and tries to use me to get to you. I am sorry, but I don't want to put myself in a position where I can be useful to your enemies. They certainly are enough of them."

Yoshi fingered his string of a beard as he thought this through. "So you do not want to be a burden to us?"

"I don't want to bring anything home to my family," Laura clarified.

"I can understand you desire to protect those you hold dear," Yoshi said, "but you must also take your own safety into consideration."

"I can keep myself hidden," Laura assured him, "Besides, I really don't think the Foot would even look for me. They have no more leverage over me. I've found Tim and have no desire to help them anyways."

"The boys will not like you leaving, especially Raphael. He has grown quite protective of you."

"Really? Red?"

"He may not admit it, but you defended him against the Shredder's henchman, did you not? I believe he feels he owes you a debt."

"A debt he and the others repaid when they stopped me," Laura remembered her trial with a beaker full of explosive nitroglycerin and a death wish.

"Perhaps, but the feelings still remain," Yoshi smiled gently.

". . . That's why I have to leave. I won't let myself become their weakness. They're all too kind and naïve. Although they are warriors, they are still just kids and are influenced too easily."

"But they do know when to fight for what matters."

Laura thought this point over, hesitating. "Then when it's time for me to fight, I'll come back with a cure."

 **O**

Splinter stood staring at the turnstiles. Laura Whitten had left, and he had a feeling she would not be in any danger. She was a resourceful young lady, from what Raphael had told him, and could stand up for herself if the need should arise.

Raphael would not be pleased with her decision, Splinter knew. He could imagine how the scene would play out, he would get angry and insist they go looking for her. Leonardo would agree and Donatello would retreat into his laboratory where he would attempt to track Miss Whitten in some manner. But Splinter had a feeling that, no matter how much they searched, they will not find her.

Laura Whitten was in hiding, and although there was no doubt that they would hear from her soon, they would not see her for some weeks . . .


End file.
